192 THE WONDERS OF VEGETATION. 



100 feet above the ground. They are not numerous, 

 but the foliage is abundant at the top. One of the 

 most beautiful and perfect of these trees was felled 

 in 1855, and was carefully examined. From the re- 

 sults obtained, it appears that 4,000 years at least 

 must have passed before it could have attained the 

 proportions to which it had grown. Among the 

 trees felled at this time one, a giant among giants, 

 was found to be 450 feet high higher than any ca- 

 thedral or monument in the world and 120 feet in 

 circumference. In falling, this giant broke at 300 

 feet from the base, and even here it measured 18 feet 

 in diameter. 



The forest in which these giants grow is called 

 Mammoth Grove. It is situated in a little valley near 

 the source of one of the tributaries of the river Cal- 

 averas. The valley which produces these trees con- 

 tains nearly 300 acres of ground, and lies about 4,000 

 feet above the level of the sea. During the summer 

 the climate is delicious here, free from the choking 

 heat of the lower plains. The vegetation is always 

 fresh and green, while the water, as pure as crystal, is 

 almost as cold as ice. The respective positions of 

 these trees has led to their receiving different names. 

 Of these the chief are the Man and the Woman, because 

 these two stand together ; Hercules, a felled tree 

 which yielded 72,500 feet of timber ; the Hermit, so 

 named because of its isolated position ; the Mother 

 and the Son, etc. These trees have all a circumference 

 of from 55 to 60 feet, and the height is in no case less 

 than 300 feet. 



